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Council on Firefighter Training
www.COFT-Oklahoma.org • 405-601-8862 • fax 405-601-7996 • email contact@coft-oklahoma.org
COFT - A Look Back and a Peek Forward
Jon Hansen, COFT
Executive Director
G r e e t i n g s
O k l a h oma
Fire Service!
As 2011 draws
to a close, I want
to mention a few
of the important
programs COFT
is involved in
or shared in a
partnership role with our many
fire service organizations.
1) The Performance
Based, Earned Volunteer
Firefighter Tax Credit;
2) Oklahoma Firefighter
Cardiovascular Wellness
Program with Integris Heart
Hospital;
3) Five Levels of Firefighter
Guidelines;
4) Company/ Chief Officer
Tactics & Leadership Focus
Groups;
5) “Blue Card” Command
Program focusing on “Local
Incident Management”;
6) OFCA New Chiefs and
Winter Workshop;
just to mention a few. This
has been a productive year.
As a group, we have good
momentum to drive us in to
2012. Our pledge is to continue
to be a good partner and team
player.
PUBLIC SAFETY EDUCATION
We will address Public Safety
Education in 2012! Oklahoma
ranked number 5 nationally in
civilian fire deaths last year.
The easiest way to fight a fire is
to prevent it before it happens.
It will be a major priority in
2012!
FIREFIGHTER INJURIES
Another priority in 2012
will be lowering the number
of firefighter injuries. I have
included some excerpts from
an article written by Pat West
on a recent study of how costly
firefighter injuries really are.
Pat writes, “According to a
study measuring the economic
impact of firefighter injuries
released by the National
Institute of Standards and
Technology, about 80,000
U.S. firefighters a year are
injured. The total economic
burden to the nation for
addressing and preventing
firefighter injuries is $2.7
billion to $7.8 billion per year,
the report estimates.”
“Each year tens of thousands
of firefighters are injured while
fighting fires, rescuing people,
responding to hazardous
materials incidents, and
training for their job,” states
The Economic Consequences
of Firefighter Injuries and
Their Prevention. “While the
majority of injuries are minor,
a significant number are
debilitating and career-ending.
Such injuries exact both a great
human toll and financial toll.”
That estimate doesn’t include
many indirect costs, such
as labor spent investigating
firefighter injuries, the cost of
training firefighters, physical
fitness and wellness programs,
or what fire departments
pay in medical insurance for
firefighters. One estimate,
based on an NFPA report that
included court settlements to
injured firefighters and a variety
of other costs produced an
estimated cost of $16.7 billion
per year.
Chief David Daniels, who is the
past chairman of the Health,
Safety and Survival Section of
International Association of
Fire Chiefs, said the report is a
particularly important one for
the fire service, and especially
for fire department leaders.
“For many years fire
departments have suffered
in silence with the impact of
the 80,000 plus injuries every
year,” Daniels said. “This report
can be an important tool to help
fire chiefs make an objective
case for the importance of
prevention of injuries and
saving nearly a billion dollars
to our nation’s economy. It’s
also an important first step
towards providing data for the
fire service’s renewed interest
in research as a vehicle to
reduce injuries and deaths in
our industry.”
As I have mentioned many
times before your health,
safety, and survival is the
number one priority of the
Council on Firefighter Training.
Safe firefighters reflect a safe
community.
2012
In 2012, The Council is
discussing the possibility, along
with fire service stakeholders,
of sponsoring a Leadership
Development Symposium
and a Public Safety Education
Conference in Oklahoma. The
vision is to start small with
regional programs. We will
need a lot of help from across
our state. More information to
follow.
COFT has many different
programs to deliver. Please
let us know if you have a
meeting and would like one of
our Regional Training Advisors
(RTA’s) and/or Council staff to
attend.
I want to thank all fire service
stakeholders and organizations
for your continued help and
support. Together, we continue
to demonstrate how much can
be accomplished by working
with and supporting each
other.
The number one goal of the
Council on Firefighter Training
is keeping you and our citizens
out of harm’s way! Let’s slow
down, buckle up, and all stay
healthy and safe … together.
Please take time to enjoy
this joyful time of year and let’s
not forget the ”Reason for the
Season.” May you and your
family be blessed this holiday
season!
JON
jonh@coft-oklahoma.org
405-620-6262

Council on Firefighter Training
www.COFT-Oklahoma.org • 405-601-8862 • fax 405-601-7996 • email contact@coft-oklahoma.org
COFT - A Look Back and a Peek Forward
Jon Hansen, COFT
Executive Director
G r e e t i n g s
O k l a h oma
Fire Service!
As 2011 draws
to a close, I want
to mention a few
of the important
programs COFT
is involved in
or shared in a
partnership role with our many
fire service organizations.
1) The Performance
Based, Earned Volunteer
Firefighter Tax Credit;
2) Oklahoma Firefighter
Cardiovascular Wellness
Program with Integris Heart
Hospital;
3) Five Levels of Firefighter
Guidelines;
4) Company/ Chief Officer
Tactics & Leadership Focus
Groups;
5) “Blue Card” Command
Program focusing on “Local
Incident Management”;
6) OFCA New Chiefs and
Winter Workshop;
just to mention a few. This
has been a productive year.
As a group, we have good
momentum to drive us in to
2012. Our pledge is to continue
to be a good partner and team
player.
PUBLIC SAFETY EDUCATION
We will address Public Safety
Education in 2012! Oklahoma
ranked number 5 nationally in
civilian fire deaths last year.
The easiest way to fight a fire is
to prevent it before it happens.
It will be a major priority in
2012!
FIREFIGHTER INJURIES
Another priority in 2012
will be lowering the number
of firefighter injuries. I have
included some excerpts from
an article written by Pat West
on a recent study of how costly
firefighter injuries really are.
Pat writes, “According to a
study measuring the economic
impact of firefighter injuries
released by the National
Institute of Standards and
Technology, about 80,000
U.S. firefighters a year are
injured. The total economic
burden to the nation for
addressing and preventing
firefighter injuries is $2.7
billion to $7.8 billion per year,
the report estimates.”
“Each year tens of thousands
of firefighters are injured while
fighting fires, rescuing people,
responding to hazardous
materials incidents, and
training for their job,” states
The Economic Consequences
of Firefighter Injuries and
Their Prevention. “While the
majority of injuries are minor,
a significant number are
debilitating and career-ending.
Such injuries exact both a great
human toll and financial toll.”
That estimate doesn’t include
many indirect costs, such
as labor spent investigating
firefighter injuries, the cost of
training firefighters, physical
fitness and wellness programs,
or what fire departments
pay in medical insurance for
firefighters. One estimate,
based on an NFPA report that
included court settlements to
injured firefighters and a variety
of other costs produced an
estimated cost of $16.7 billion
per year.
Chief David Daniels, who is the
past chairman of the Health,
Safety and Survival Section of
International Association of
Fire Chiefs, said the report is a
particularly important one for
the fire service, and especially
for fire department leaders.
“For many years fire
departments have suffered
in silence with the impact of
the 80,000 plus injuries every
year,” Daniels said. “This report
can be an important tool to help
fire chiefs make an objective
case for the importance of
prevention of injuries and
saving nearly a billion dollars
to our nation’s economy. It’s
also an important first step
towards providing data for the
fire service’s renewed interest
in research as a vehicle to
reduce injuries and deaths in
our industry.”
As I have mentioned many
times before your health,
safety, and survival is the
number one priority of the
Council on Firefighter Training.
Safe firefighters reflect a safe
community.
2012
In 2012, The Council is
discussing the possibility, along
with fire service stakeholders,
of sponsoring a Leadership
Development Symposium
and a Public Safety Education
Conference in Oklahoma. The
vision is to start small with
regional programs. We will
need a lot of help from across
our state. More information to
follow.
COFT has many different
programs to deliver. Please
let us know if you have a
meeting and would like one of
our Regional Training Advisors
(RTA’s) and/or Council staff to
attend.
I want to thank all fire service
stakeholders and organizations
for your continued help and
support. Together, we continue
to demonstrate how much can
be accomplished by working
with and supporting each
other.
The number one goal of the
Council on Firefighter Training
is keeping you and our citizens
out of harm’s way! Let’s slow
down, buckle up, and all stay
healthy and safe … together.
Please take time to enjoy
this joyful time of year and let’s
not forget the ”Reason for the
Season.” May you and your
family be blessed this holiday
season!
JON
jonh@coft-oklahoma.org
405-620-6262